Amalgamated Bank Decreases Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 72,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,818 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $2,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% in the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:IPG opened at $27.40 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $26.30 and a one year high of $35.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.61.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Profile

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc provides advertising and marketing services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Media, Data & Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions. The Media, Data & Engagement Solutions segment provides media and communications services, digital services and products, advertising and marketing technology, e-commerce services, data management and analytics, strategic consulting, and digital brand experience under the IPG Mediabrands, UM, Initiative, Kinesso, Acxiom, Huge, MRM, and R/GA brand names.